Captain America: The story of Lady Liberty
by Screaming Kittycat
Summary: June Stark is special, a genetically mutated human. And it was this mutation that helped to create the mighty Captain America, both body and soul. Follow June as she grows to be the hero for the people. Christened with the name Lady Liberty, she joins Steve Rogers in taking down the horrid HYDRA. I hope you like a little love with your war. Steve X June, Sorry Peggy lovers.
1. The Destined Meeting

**Captain America: the story of Lady Liberty**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Captain America Franchise! All rights go to Marvel.**

 **Claimer: I own June and anything I create that is not cannon.**

Being successful when you come from nothing is world's greatest achievement. And that is exactly what June's brother, Howard Stark, had done. Her brother and her grew up in New York, their father sold fruits and their mother sewed Shitsweats for a living. It was a hard life for them all, but when Howard started his pilgrimage to becoming one of the most successful men in the world, it got easier.

Along with his achievements, June was also making her mark on the world. The moment June was born she was different, not normal. When she was two years old she could walk just like an adult and could do things no child could do. She was special, a mutated human. As she grew she realized that she could copy exactly what someone else could do, if she watched Da Vinci paint the Mona Lisa, then she could paint the Mona Lisa. She called it muscle memory, the ability to watch a person's muscle movement and adapt her body to be able to do the exact same thing.

It was this ability that helped her to progress in life along with her brother, the military had easily found out this ability and snatched her up into their ranks. She was trained in all western attacks, guns, hand to hand combat, agility, strength. They developed her into a weapon that could help them in the war. In the years to come, she participated in the rescue of Doctor Abraham Erskine from the castle of Johann Schmidt, the head of Hitler's special weapons division HYDRA.

Doctor Erskine was working on a serum that would create super soldiers, they would be the strongest, fastest, and best soldiers in the world. They would never get sick, never tire and NEVER die. But something was missing, his serum had never been successful when he worked with HYDRA…until now. June's muscles ability to change and adapt to accommodate her copying was the final piece of the puzzle. With her blood, the serum would be able to change a person without killing them or have muscle or skin deterioration that has happened before. Now all they needed was to find someone who would be perfect for the job.

She began travelling with her brother, an SSR Agent Peggy Carter, Colonel Chester Phillips and Doctor Erskine to find the perfect candidates.. Their final stop was Brooklyn before it was on to Camp Lehigh. They were also there because Howard had his Stark Industries exhibition he was hosting.

Right now, June decided to leave the safety and comfort of her temporary home and wander the streets of Brooklyn, she may not get a chance when she returned with Colonel Phillips to the front lines. She was finally being brought to the war, years of training and memorizing had all been to end the war. She would do anything to end all the death. It was a mighty accomplishment for a woman of her time.

Brooklyn wasn't a glamorous city with flashing lights and gorgeous buildings. It was more of an industrial city, more polluted air and brown buildings. Not to say it wasn't nice to look at, the youngest Stark always enjoyed a new city. She loved to see new people, new sights, and feel a new atmosphere. Travelling had been something that she always wanted to do as a child living in the lower east end of New York.

"Hey chicky, wanna come have some fun?" she internally groaned at the lecherous voice of a no doubt inebriated male and continued to walk. She would never understand why someone would want to be drunk at 10 in the morning, perhaps it had something to do with the war or he was just an alcoholic but the reason did not matter, get drunk in the comfort of your own home, not publicly. "Hey! I'm talking to ya!" she tensed when the man grabbed her arm and forced her to face him. His breath stunk of beer, cigarettes and food between his teeth that had begun to rot due to lack of floss. "don't ignore me bitch!"

"Leave me alone, I do not care for dunks" she hissed menacingly. Unfortunately, the man ignored the warning in her tone.

"Don't talk to me that way bitch!" he growled at her hatefully. She was silently gearing up to put this man in his place, on the ground.

"The lady said to leave her alone" the two beings stopped glaring at each other when a voice distracted them. A short, thin, almost scrawny looking man stood before him. He had a cute face, blonde hair and blue eyes that were glaring at the drunkard threateningly, though not intimidatingly. His stature did not scare her, and she knew it did not scare the man.

"Get lost pipsqueak before I knock ya teeth out!" the drunk snapped angrily.

"She said to leave her alone!" the drunk did not like the man words. He let go of June and punched the man right in the jaw, she gasped as he fell to the floor. Deciding the man had enough warning, she let her muscles to the talking.

"Hey! Asshole!" when he turned around she reared back and punched him with the same strength and force he used on the man laying on the floor. With a mighty force behind her swing, she knocked the guy out. "Idiot…" she muttered to herself before heading over to the man who was getting up from the floor, she grasped his arm gently and helped him to stand "I am so sorry, I hope he did not hurt you too terribly" the man looked up at her with a mix of a smile and a wince. She could tell that a bruise was forming.

"Ahh, not to worry ma'am" the man said with a blush "I've had worse, though seeing a woman knock a man out has bruised my ego a little" she giggled softly at his joke, even if she believed he was probably speaking the truth. "are you ok? I'm sure that punch had to have hurt."

She raised her hand and showed him her bare, flawless skin "I am fine, it is not the first time I've had to stop a man from forcing himself on me" she replied reassuringly.

"I wish women never have to defend themselves" he said with a frown "excuse my manners, my name is Steve Rogers" he brought his hand out and grasped her hand softly.

"June Stark" she replied with a firm handshake and a smirk at the bewildered look on Steve's face.

"June Stark? Sister of Howard Stark of Stark Industries?" she nodded "this is the first time I've met a celebrity."

She chuckled at that "hardly, I'm sure Clark Gable is a more noteworthy celebrity" she lost her smile when she saw the slight purple forming on Steve's jaw "we should get some ice on your jaw to stop it from swelling."

"Don't worry, I can do that" she shook her head.

"You tried to defend my honor, I would feel terrible if I couldn't help you" she motioned to the street "is there somewhere we can go to get something cold?" she asked "I've never been in Brooklyn before."

"First day?" she nodded "there is a bar close by, we can ask for ice" he said nervously, he had no idea how he was talking to this beautiful woman. She was your typical American woman, blonde hair and blue eyes attached to a very desirable body that he was having a hard time not looking at. She was the opposite to her raven haired brown eyed brother he's seen in the newspapers. He felt like an idiot for inviting her to a bar, not like anything was going to happen. He was too scrawny and weak for a beautiful dame like her, especially a dame that can knock a buff guy out with one punch. Her brother must have payed for a personal trainer to teach her defence.

"As long as we take care of your jaw" he nodded "please show the way" he nodded once more and walked beside her, the bar was only a block away. As it was still early in the morning, only a few men were sitting at the stools and tables. "Hi Hank" Steve called to the bartender as both he and June sat down.

"Ahh Steve, got into another fight?" Hank asked as he saw the small mans bruised jaw "what'd you do this time?"

"Tried to defend this lady from a drunk" he motioned to the beautiful woman beside him. Hank did a double take at the beauty who willingly followed Steve into a bar. This was a first as the poor boy could never catch the eye of a woman, let alone talk to them.

"He was very brave, are we able to get some ice for his bruise?" June asked softly, she could see the surprised look sent her way. She guessed Steve was not very good at attracting ladies, it was obviously his stature that women did not like. He wasn't unattractive, he had a handsome face, it was just his body that was lacking. She was sure that his personality would make up for his looks, anyone who would go up against someone twice his size to defend someone was alright in her book.

"Oh uh, of course. Let me get that" Hank snapped out of his shock and hurried over to his ice box, he grabbed a tea towel and wrapped it around a scoopful of ice. "Here, you know the drill" he passed it to Steve and walked off to serve the others.

Steve placed the ice pack on his jaw and turned back to June with a sheepish look "thank you…you know, for worrying about me."

"But of course, I would never ignore someone who was hurt at my expense" she gave him a reassuring smile that helped him to relax. "tell me, are you going to the Modern Marvels of Tomorrow exhibition tomorrow night?"

Steve scratched the back of his head "Ah I think so, I've been told its not something to miss."

June nodded enthusiastically "it most certainly isn't something to miss, my brother has worked hard to reach the future. Are you going with someone?"

"I will most likely attend the event with my friend Bucky, that is…if Bucky wasn't going with a woman, which he probably will be."

"Then you can go with me" Steve's head shot up and he fumbled with the ice pack when he loosened his grip.

"W-wha wha why?" he could not fathom why such an accomplished woman would want to attend an event with him. He must be dreaming.

"Consider it a thank you for defending me. Will you join me?" she asked in a hopeful tone. Steve was more than what he seemed, he had a kindness that was rare in this destructive world.

"O-of course…I…I would love to go with y-you" he tried to stop stuttering but to no avail, he just could not understand how this was happening. This had to be a dream, maybe he could pinch himself when she wasn't looking.

She let a smile stretch across her face "excellent, shall we meet at the entrance at 7?"

"Of course…will it be ok if my friend Bucky joins us?" he needed support with this, though he was hesitant because he was sure this dame would completely forget about him when she saw Bucky. He drew girls to him like a flame draws a moth. It was inevitable that this woman would be the same, he was glad that he had her attention before she forgot about him. Having her notice him and smile at him without any disgust or pity was enough for him.

"No problem, the more the merrier."


	2. The First Date

**Captain America: the story of Lady Liberty**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Captain America Franchise! All rights go to Marvel.**

 **Claimer: I own June and anything I create that is not cannon.**

He couldn't do this, he just couldn't! Why did he think he could go to an event with a beautiful woman like June? He can't talk to women, he was lucky that June was the one that instigated the conversations the day before! And then there was Bucky, that man would snatch June up without even trying.

Steve was walking with James Barnes, more commonly known as Bucky, to the exhibition after the soldier had saved him from once again, being beaten up by someone twice his size. Hearing that his lifelong friend was heading to the front lines tomorrow had dampened his spirit and energy, he wanted to go to war dammit! No one would let him, he was too thin, too weak and had a long list of ailments and illnesses that hindered his chances. So to get passed that he started forging his place of birth, hoping that someone would let him join. He knew it wasn't going to work but he wasn't going to stop trying, he will not stay home like a child whilst his brothers and sisters were playing their part. Even women were doing more than him! They would be sent off to the front lines or to camps to be nurses, why couldn't he do that! He wouldn't be fighting but at least he would be doing something.

He hasn't told Bucky that he was going to the exhibition with a woman, and with said hosts sister at that. He didn't know why he didn't tell his best friend, maybe it was fear or that it may have been a dream. Either way, his friend would be in for a surprise.

He arrived at the entrance and his eyes immediately moved to his…date? Could he call her that, was it a date? Either way, she was absolutely stunning. She was wearing a ravishing black and ivory polka dot frock with a tie collar that met with ruched short sleeves and an empire waistline with streamlined seaming. A fluid A-line skirt rested just at the knees. Her shoes were 4-inch black heels that made her legs shapely and long. She wore light makeup that enhanced her features and she tied her hair up in two victory rolls on either side of her head that perfectly framed her face.

She had swarms of people around her, all clamoring for her attention. She had a sweet smile but he could see that it was forced. He watched as she scanned the crowd before her eyes settled on him, relief covered her face. She spoke a few short words to the crowd which caused them to part before she hurried over to him. "Now that is a beautiful dame," Bucky said to him softly, making sure his voice could not be heard by his dates Connie and Bonnie. The two girls squealed when the Stark woman stood before them "hello gorgeous, to what do we owe the pleasure of your company?" Bucky said with a charming smile.

She smiled at him kindly though it was neither flirtatious nor charming, "you must be Bucky, Steve has told me much about you."

James blanched as he processed her words "you, you know Steve?" he tried not to sound shocked at this revelation.

"Yes, did you not know that I am Steve's date tonight?" she looked over at her quiet date in confusion, why did he not tell his friend about her?

"No he did not" Bucky looked at his friend with a smirk, he instantly realised why his date was kept a secret "does not matter now, we should head inside. I believe your brother is starting his presentation soon" he looked to his ladies and offered his arms, they giggled and began dragging him off, probably to make sure that June did not take him away from them.

That left Steve and June alone "worried that your friend would take me away?" she said confidently, it was quite obvious once she realised it. She noticed how he tensed up when she looked at Bucky, he had a look that told her he was used to having his friend getting all the ladies. Too bad for Bucky that she wasn't interested in looks like all the callous ladies in Brooklyn,

"How…" Steve cleared his throat when he felt it catch "how did you know?" he must have made a face.

"You had this defeated look" she moved beside him and looped her arm with his, it was difficult because he was much shorter than her but she managed "shall we head inside, I can get us to the front."

"Ah yes, lets…lets do that" he allowed himself to be pulled by the beautiful woman, all the while ignoring the stares of jealousy from males that have never been directed at him before. Also, confusion, lots of confusion, most likely people were confused as to how a well accomplished, famous and beautiful woman was on the arm of…well…him.

 _Welcome to the Modern Marvels Pavilion and the world of tomorrow,"_ a deep and charismatic voice said over a loudspeaker " _a greater world. A better world."_ Steve and June were trailing behind Bucky and his ladies, they were too chipper and giggly for the younger Starks liking. They walked to the front just as the voice spoke again _"ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Howard Stark!"_ June cheered for her brother as he swaggered onto the stage. He was such a charmer, and flirt. He would kiss any woman that moved, well except for June herself.

"I love you, Howard!" a girl screamed up at the handsome man.

He looked down and winked at his sister before beginning "what if I told you that in just a few short years, your automobile won't even have to touch the ground at all?" his beautiful helpers took away the wheels on an expensive car to reveal engines in their place. "yes. Thanks, Mandy. With Stark Gravitic Reversion Technology, you'll be able to do just that" he had the audience hooked, they were entranced by his captivating words and charming personality. The Starks were born with natural charisma and confidence. He pushed some buttons on a panel and pulled a lever that made the car rise from the floor. Everyone including Steve gasped as they stared at the wonder of the future, June just looked on with a smile, her brother truly was a brilliant genius.

All good things must come to an end, sparks began to shoot from the engine and before anyone realised what happened the car came crashing onto the floor. June giggled at Howard's embarrassed expression, he gave her a slight glare before bringing his charming expression back on his face "I did say a few years, didn't I?" everyone laughed.

"Do you want to get out of here?" June asked her date who seemed equally bored, he also seemed uncomfortable around all these people.

"Yes please, do you mind if we go to the United States Armed Services?" he wanted to try one more time before tomorrow, hopefully, he could go with his best friend to the front lines.

"Want to enlist?" he nodded "of course we can go, I've seen my brother rehearsing this many times" she waved to her brother and walked off with her date to the USAS.

"Come on soldier" a woman grabbed her mans arm and dragged him away from the mirror. It had a single space where what should be a persons face was actually a mirror whilst the rest was an image of many soldiers saluting. Its purpose was for people to see their face on a soldiers body, to feel inspired to sign up.

Steve walked up and stood on the platform, his face showed up on the reflection but only the top half of his face was revealed. June frowned at the saddened and disappointed look on his face. She walked up to him and grabbed his arm, smiling at him softly when he looked up at her "I'm sure you'll become a soldier."

"I hope I will," he said back to her softly, he wanted to be a soldier more than anything in the world.

"I thought we were having a double date" the duo turned around and saw Bucky smirking at them "I'm taking the girls dancing."

"You go ahead, I'll catch up with you" he motioned to June "you can take June dancing If you want" she shook her head at him.

Bucky sighed and looked down at his friend "you're really going to do this again?" she frowned at his question, had he asked to join more than once? The only way he could do that is If he forged his papers. She did not care if he did but she was worried that he could get caught, the penalty for forgery is severe.

"Well, it's a fair. I'm going to try my luck."

Bucky glared "as who, Steve from Ohio?" he snapped before he realised who was beside them.

When she saw their panicked stares she shook her head "I figured that out already but I'm not going to tell, I just hope you have enough luck to not get caught."

Bucky shook his head "his luck has to run out and they'll catch him. Or worse, they'll actually take him."

Steve sighed, both in relief that June would not tell and exhaustion that Bucky couldn't understand his reasons for continuously trying. "Look, I know you don't think I can do this" June realised that this was a personal conversation and decided to walk away so they could converse.

Bucky and Steve saw this but chose to continue their talk "this isn't a back alley, Steve. It's war."

"I know it's a war."

June saw Doctor Erskine walking towards the duo and got his attention by waving to him. He looked at her curiously and watched her motioned to the small man. He realized what she was motioning at and listened in on the conversation "Why are you so keen to fight? There are so many important jobs."

"What do you want me to do? Collect scrap metal in my little red wagon?"

"Yes. Why not?"

"I'm not gonna sit in a factory Bucky" Steve said angrily "Bucky come on. There are men laying down their lives. I got no right to do any less than them. That's why you don't understand. This isn't about me."

Bucky was unconvinced "right. 'Cause you got nothing to prove." They both fell silent, Erskine looked over to June who nodded, she found the perfect candidate.

"Hey, Sarge!" a girl called out chipperly to Bucky "Are we going dancing?"

Bucky ended the conversation by turning to the girls "yes, we are" he looked back at his friend and smiled "don't do anything stupid until I get back."

"You're taking all the stupid with you" Steve replied as June walked back over.

Bucky shook his head and strode back over to this best friend, pulling him into a hug "you're a punk."

"Jerk" they pulled back "be careful."

Bucky chuckled and looked at June "it was a pleasure to meet you my lady" he grasped her hand and kissed it gently.

"It was a pleasure to meet you too James, please be careful out there."

He stepped back and walked away just as Steve shouted, "don't win the war till I get there!" Bucky saluted and joined his women for his last night of freedom.

"You have a great friend," June said to Steve after a moment of silence.

"Yeah, he's always been there for me. I'm gonna miss him" he said sadly.

"He's going to come back, and who knows, you may see him in battle" she turned to him and gave him the sweetest smile she could "I need to head back to my brother, this is the last night we'll be in Brooklyn before we go head to Camp Lehigh."

"Camp Lehigh?" he asked in surprise "sorry to be so blunt but I thought they did not let women into military camps."

"They do if they are part of the army" Steve's eyes widened "I hope we can see each other again Steve. You are a wonderful person and I am glad you joined me tonight" she leaned down and kissed him on the cheek "goodbye Steve" she stepped back and sauntered off, leaving Steve to stare at her with a bewildered expression.

Truly a remarkable woman. She must be very skilled to be recruited by the USA Military. He will definitely see her again, he will be recruited this time, he had to. He would not let that beautiful dame fight in a war without him. With that in mind, he turned around and walked further into the building, not noticing Doctor Erskine looking at him with a smirk.


	3. The Perfect Candidate

**Captain America: the story of Lady Liberty**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Captain America Franchise! All rights go to Marvel.**

 **Claimer: I own June and anything I create that is not cannon.**

Camp Lehigh was the best military training ground in the U.S. Army, everyone who was assigned to group 1A to 1C, the front line soldiers go to Lehigh. It was also the most annoying place for both Miss Stark and Miss Carter. Being as they were both women in a predominately male-dominated world, they were targeted for ridicule and domination. They were seen as the lesser, fairer sex and deemed unworthy of a station within their ranks, they had no respect, even though they were of higher status and rank to most of the men at camp, actually, they were higher than everyone but Colonel Phillips and Doctor Erskine as they were the two men they answered to.

June was happy and relieved to finally be in an atmosphere that she was more used to. She was not a preppy, sweet lady like most women. She was a soldier first, female second. It felt great to trade her dress in for a military jumpsuit. Her outfit certainly gained some looks, some with confusion whilst others with lust, seeing a woman in such an outfit was a turn on for men it seems. Lucky for her everyone in the army knew she was the sister of Howard Stark and under the command of Colonel Phillips, no one would dare try anything without a swift kick to the stomach.

The new recruits were coming in soon, she hoped that Mr. Rogers was in the truck. He was a very interesting character, one that was more than he appeared. She believed he had the guts and heart to take Doctor Erskine's serum. It was a delicate choosing process, they would not choose the usual soldier as they would take the serum for granted.

She walked beside Peggy as the new recruits came out of their assigned rooms and immediately lined up to wait for their Commanding Officer. Some were chatting excitingly to their companions whilst others stood at attention. "Ready, exercise!" Peggy called out strongly, the men stopped talking and snapped to attention "recruits, attention!" they slightly slouched when they saw it was two women they were standing at attention to. "Gentlemen, I am Agent Carter and this is Lieutenant Stark" the blonde allowed herself a brief glance at Steve before returning her attention to Peggy "I supervise all operations for this division."

A man snorted loudly, gaining the attention of everyone around him "what's with the accent. Queen Victoria?" the man said amusedly, June glared at the man for his lack of respect. "I thought I was signing up for the U.S Army."

June decided to let Peggy take care of the disrespect, she would intimidate them later. "What's your name, soldier?" the SSR Agent asked.

"Gilmore Hodge, Your Majesty."

"Step forward, Hodge" the man smirked and followed her order "put your right foot forward" June smile when she realized what Peggy was doing. Smart woman.

"We gonna wrassle?" the man asked challengingly "'cause I got a few moved I know you'll like" he winked at her and before anyone realized he was laying on the floor after receiving a nasty right hook.

"Agent Carter!" both women turned around and stood straight, saluting their Commanding Officer.

"Colonel Phillips" they greeted together.

"I can see that you are breaking in the candidates. That's good!" he stopped before Hodge and look down at him "get your ass up out of that dirt and stand in that line at attention till somebody comes tells you what to do."

The man stood straight, ignoring his bloody nose "yes, sir!"

"General Patton has said that wars are fought with weapons, but they were won by men. We are going to win this war because we have the best...men" he hesitated when he saw Steve, he looked over at Doctor Erskine who did not look back "and because they are going to get better. Much better. The Strategic Scientific Reserve is an Allied effort made up of the best minds in the free world. Our goal is to create the best army in history. But every army starts with one man. At the end of this week, we will choose that man. He will be the first in a new breed of super-soldier. And they will personally escort Adolf Hitler to the gates of Hell." Now that his men were motivated, it was time to begin "today you are going to be evaluated on your base skills before we begin training. We would like to see progress so, you will each spar with Lieutenant Stark" that earned him loud snorts and deep chuckles "do not laugh at me!" the men stopped "you underestimate my Lieutenant, she would not be part of the army if she could not kick a mans ass!" he motioned for June to step forward.

"We will go by alphabetical order, starting from A" she leaned over to the soldier with the list and read the top name "Albert, you're up first" a man with dark skin and rounded glasses stepped forth, whilst he wasn't cocky like the other men, you could see that he thought he would overpower the fragile looking woman. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," he raised his hands and swung when she nodded for him to start. His fist collided with her forearm with a loud thump. June smirked when she felt her muscles tightened and harden to copy the man's strength. She bent her knee and used her thigh to block the man's kick. Now she had him, the battle was quickly over when she used the same strength he possessed. She looked down at him with a disappointed look "you were holding back, I may be a woman but I am far more skilled than all of you princesses" she helped the man up, further showing her strength. Once he stood back in line she turned to the others "if you want to be picked you must show me your skills, do not hold back. You would not do so to a Nazi so don't do so to me."

"Remember, she is one of your Commanding Officers" Phillips shouted "if you can't follow orders from an officer, even if she is a woman than you do not belong in this army! Ascker, you're next!" and so they travelled down the list, each man falling hard on their asses. This was not a proper fight, not one of these recruits could compare two years of professional training that June has had, this was merely to see the strength, tenacity, determination, and skills of each cadet. Steve was the worst, he fell to the floor just by her tripping him. She felt bad that she hurt him but she hoped it would fuel a fire within him that would help him to push harder.

"Alright, you whimpering babies! We can see that none of you know how to fight! This isn't your street fighting this is war! Strength isn't going to keep you alive, hit the showers! We begin training a 0400! Dismissed" the cadets saluted and marched to the showers.

Steve walked past June and smiled when he saw her mouth the words "I'm sorry." He nodded to her, showing his forgiveness as he walked with the others to the showers. This was only the beginning.

Steve was….absolutely horrible at everything. Sure they expected it due to his stature but to actually see him failing at everything made everyone look at him with pity or amusement. He couldn't climb ropes without getting tangled and falling, he couldn't climb under barb wire without getting stuck, he couldn't throw a punch without nearly breaking his wrist and he definitely could not run without having a near asthma attack. June and Peggy were looking on with pity and doubt that he may be suited for the job. He had the right heart and soul for it but body…they feared he might die if they put him under the stress that the serum caused.

"Let's go, let's go! Double time!" one of the Commanding Officers shouted to his team. As usual, Steve was lagging behind "come on! Faster! Faster! Move! Move! Squad, halt!" they pulled to a stop before a metal pole "that flag means we're only at the halfway point. The first man to bring it to me gets a ride back with Agent Carter and Lieutenant Stark, Move! Move!" at the mention of the two beautiful women, all soldiers but Steve raced to the flag. They were pushing and shoving their squad mates so they could reach the flag and sit near the dames. "come on, get up there! If that's all you got, this army's in trouble! Get up there Hodge!" they were all failing horribly "nobody's got that flag in 17 years! Now fall back into line! Come on, fall in!" the squad groaned and sighed at their failure as they did as they were asked. All except Steve. He puffed for breath as he shuffled to the pole, a plan formulating in his mind. "Rogers! I said fall in!" he ignored the officer as he pulled out the pins in the pole. With a mighty clang, it fell to the floor.

Forcing himself not to smirk he grabbed the flag, handed it to his sergeant and sat next to June in the back of the car. The youngest Stark sent him a proud and impressed smirk to which he returned. Determined and intelligent, what a combo.

"Faster, ladies! Come on" Peggy was taking command of the exercising for the morning, she had the men doing multiple push-ups until their arms caved "my grandmother has more life in her, God rest her soul. Move it!"

June, Erskine and Phillips were standing by a supply truck as they watched the cadets "you're not really thinking about picking Rogers, are you?" Phillips asked the Doctor.

"I'm more than just thinking about it. He is a clear choice. Miss Stark thinks so as well."

"We are not looking for who has the best muscles Colonel" she commented.

"When you brought a 90-pound asthmatic onto my army base, I let it slide. I thought, "what the hell." Maybe he'd be more useful to you, like a gerbil. I never thought you'd pick him" they looked over at the group that was now doing jumping jacks "you stick a needle in that kid's arm, it's gonna go right through him. Look at that, he's making me cry."

"I am looking for qualities beyond the physical as Miss Stark had stated before."

"Do you know how long it took to set up this project? All the groveling I had to do in front of Senator What's-His-Name's committees?"

Erskine nodded "Brandt. Yes, I know. I am well aware of your efforts."

"Then throw me a bone. Hodge passed every test we gave him. He's big, he's fast. He obeys orders. He's a soldier."

"He's a bully."

June nodded bitterly "I will have to agree with Doctor Erskine about Hodge. When there are no Officers around he likes to torment the cadets that are lesser than him, not just Mister Rogers. Giving him the serum would be detrimental and a terrible idea. You would not give a treat to a naughty dog so we should not give a super serum to an aggressive and violent man such as Hodge."

"You don't win wars with niceness Lieutenant" Phillips walked towards one of the creates in the truck and grabbed a grenade "you win wars with guts" June's eyes widened as Phillips pulled the pin and threw it in the center of the cadets. "grenade!" Hodge and the rest of the cadets raced as far away from the grenade as possible.

All except Steve. He raced to the grenade and jumped onto it, curling his body around it so he would take the brunt of the explosion. "get away!" he screamed desperately, he didn't think about how it would result in his death, it didn't even cross his mind. All he thought about was making sure no one got hurt. "get back!" when everyone realized it was a dud they stopped cowering and moved in closer.

"It was a dummy grenade. All clear. Back in formation."

June looked up at Colonel Phillips and smirked: "we win wars with guts, that was what you said yes?"

"Don't talk back to me Lieutenant" he grunted "he's still skinny" and with that, he walked away to yell at someone.

"Better go tell him Doc" June patted Erskine's shoulder and walked over to Peggy "want to go for a drink? We may be leaving by tomorrow" Peggy nodded and walked alongside the other female to their cabin "is Doctor Erskine choosing Mr. Rogers?" she asked as they sat at the table.

"Yes, and I quite agree with his decision" June replied as she poured two glasses of brandy.

"I must ask, did you know him before he came to this camp?"

"Very perceptive," she said jokingly before taking a sip of her drink "I don't know him very well but I met him in Brooklyn. He tried to defend me when a drunk was getting handsy. The man was twice Mr. Rogers size yet he still tried to fight. Got him a nasty bruise and a date with me. I was the one who pointed him out to Doctor Erskine."

"I believe him to be the perfect candidate. He's certainly got the qualities we need."

"Colonel Phillips doesn't think so."

"Yes well, Colonel Phillips is a military grunt, not a scientist."

"Peggy, I'm a military grunt."

The SSR Agent giggled "You are the sister of the most genius scientist in America, you can be excluded" the two girls giggled "do you know where we will be hosting experiment rebirth?"

June tapped her chin "I'm not too sure, most likely it will be held in a place that can generate large amounts of power."

"Brooklyn perhaps? It does have the largest sustainable energy and has a Strategic Scientific Reserve facility there as well."

June shook her head "Howard will hate going back to Brooklyn, he prefers New York City."

"If he wants to be apart of the experiment then he will have to deal with it" Peggy suddenly turned serious "you know that when the experiment is done you will be sent to the front lines? You've completed your training. All we are waiting for is to pair you up in the super-soldier group." It was decided that the best place for June to be in is with the super-soldiers they will create if the experiment is successful. With all her skills and the ability to adapt her muscle to be just as super as a super-soldier, she would be America's greatest weapon. She already was a super-soldier, and it was her blood that would create more.

"Yes, I am aware and I am ready. I want this war to end" Peggy nodded with a small smile "for now, let us drink to success and health."

"I think that is a perfect thing to toast to" they tapped their glasses together and finished their drink before pouring one more glass of brandy for the night.


End file.
